


Not Good Enough For Thee

by TiRaven (Estirose)



Category: Kamen Rider Kiva
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, F/F, Internalized Homophobia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-31
Updated: 2017-02-26
Packaged: 2018-01-17 18:02:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 8,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1397350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Estirose/pseuds/TiRaven
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wataru finds out she's not as much an Aso as she thought, and that her newfound brother has plans that don't include her girlfriend Mio. Same universe as "Leading, Leading".</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally intended to fill some squares for allbingo ("Sending Flowers", "Fantasy", "He's My Brother"), but the characters didn't cooperate.

When Wataru opened the door of her house, there was a flower delivery man with a boquet in his hands.

"Aso Wataru?" the man asked.

"Yes?" She didn't know why anybody would be sending her flowers.

"Here." He shoved it into her hands in a most unprofessional way, and she looked at them with confusion. They were pretty, wispy red flowers, but she wasn't sure why anyone would send her flowers. She and Mio-san had been in a relationship for years, but Mio wasn't the flower type, and neither was she, unless she could use them in her recipes.

"What are they?"

"Tag says Red Spider Lilies." The deliveryman grunted, and made his way out of there.

She looked at the flowers, and then took them inside. Maybe Shizuka-chan down the street would know when she came over.

There was a note on the flowers, she noticed as she settled them down on the counter. "I'm sorry," it said, and it was signed "Your older brother."

Wataru reread the last part. "I don't have an older brother," she told the room.

"Oh, Wataru!" Her older sister, Megumi, walked into the kitchen. "Did Mio-chan give you flowers?"

"No?" Wataru handed Megumi the note. "I don't have an older brother, but it was addressed to me. And these are red spider lilies. I don't know what that means...."

"Um, it means 'Never to meet again'. Oh, you must have had an admirer that gave up on you! An older one, probably."

"Oh." That made sense; she just didn't notice guys, much to her mother's disappointment.

"Don't worry, Wataru! Some day you'll find someone." Her sister claped her on the shoulder.

"Okay." She went to her room and called Mio-san. "Mio, um...."

"I... I can't be with you anymore. The-the Fangire King came to me and...."

"Mio-san...." She knew that it was inevitable, that someone would notice that Wataru and Mio wouldn't always get to be together. "What do you think we should do?" She always tried to let Mio make the decisions.

"Wataru-san, he said that I wasn't worthy of being with his little sister!" The words came out in a tumble.

"What?" This didn't make any sense. The Fangire King couldn't be her brother because she didn't have one, not that she knew of. And she was human, besides.

"He-he said that I shouldn't talk to you anymore, except to say goodbye, and that he'd find you a good husband, and that I should find a new job."

Wataru didn't have the training to fight the Fangire King. Her mother had IXA, she knew, but she knew the strain it put on her mother and she didn't want to deal with that.

"I won't let this happen to us." She balled her fists. If it was suicide, it was suicide, but she wasn't about to give up Mio-san for anything. "What do you know about the King?"

"He dresses all in white." Wataru had a mental image of Mio-san shaking her head. "He's been stalking the two of us for the last few weeks, Wataru-san, I don't know what happened."

"Then we'll just have to be together a little longer." Her mother would be upset at her if she knew what she had in mind, but there was nothing to be done. Mio was the one Wataru loved, and Wataru was not going to let any delusional Fangire King take that away from her. "I'm going to fight him."

"You can't, Wataru-san, you'll die! He might kill me with you."

That sobered Wataru up a bit. She wouldn't risk Mio-san. She would never risk Mio-san. She could yell at the Fangire King, maybe, but not if it caused Mio-san to be hurt.

Yet still, this couldn't go on. She would make sure it wouldn't go on.

Even if there was nothing she could do.

* * *

So, she went to work as normal, and so did Mio-san, even if Mio-san looked terrified. "If he comes, just let me know," she said. Mio knew what the man looked like, and Wataru could draw him away, and then argue with him.

She hadn't told her sister or her mother what she was going to do. She knew that it was dangerous, but she wanted to be with Mio-san, no matter what.

"Wataru," Mio-san said, "He's coming."

Nodding, Wataru saw the man. He was in a white shirt over a pink top, one hand in a glove, the other bare. Black pants and white shoes completed his ensemble.

"The man with the pink shirt?" she asked, and Mio-san nodded back. "I'm going to go talk to him."

"Be careful." Mio-san looked like she wanted to say more, and then shut her mouth.

"I will." She walked up to the man, looking up at him. "You threatened Mio-san." The words were quiet, because she knew enough of Fangire etiquette that they didn't like to be overheard when discussing Fangire things, even if it involved her not being Fangire.

"Let me take you away from here," the man, King, said. Which was not what she was expecting, but hey, maybe he wanted a battle somewhere less public as well. Not that she was expecting to win.

"I'm working," she said. "Would after three be all right?" She couldn't believe what she was saying, but she could hardly be screaming - or more - at the Fangire King in the middle of a Human restaurant.

The King sighed. "Yes." He disappeared, like she was in the middle of some romantic fantasy, leaving her to go back to her shift. Mio-san seemed nervous, almost dropping about five meals, but Wataru kept her from disintegrating completely.

By the time she was finished with her shift, she'd almost forgotten about the Fangire King, but he was waiting for her outside.


	2. Chapter 2

"Here," he said, tossing her a helmet.

"Let's just talk." She'd get far away enough that he couldn't immediately hurt Mio-san - or at least, Mio-san would be able to get away. "Nearby."

He stood there for a moment, as if debating whether to toss her on the back of the motorcycle or something like that. "If it makes you feel better."

For a dangerous being, he was very considerate at least. "This way." There was a tiny, one-block park nearby.

He followed her there, seemingly unconcerned that she was holding his motorcycle helmet. She tucked it under her arm, considering what she had to do next. First of all, she had to convince him that she wasn't his baby sister - find out why he thought she was. And then she had to convince him that she was Fangire even if she wasn't, because she wasn't going to have him kill Mio-san after all the effort she was putting in to keep her girlfriend.

"I'm not here to hurt you," he said, as soon as they were in a safe spot in the park.

"You're our King." She'd keep up the deception she'd started with Mio-san's parents. "And you just threatened my girlfriend."

And sent flowers to the person he thought was his baby sister, but it wasn't anything that she'd bring up with him. Not there. Not then. 

"At least you, like me, realized that you were Fangire." He looked a little happy at that. 

"Mio-san and I have known each other since I was six. I grew up in a Human home, but around Fangire kids." She thought of ever-parental Sakura-san, shy Satoshi-kun, and sarcastic Imari-san, none of which seemed to care that she was human. "I've always known." Or always been told, at least.

He was grinning. "Here, have you seen this picture of you? I have two, in fact."

"Okay." She could tell Mio why this was happening, at least.

The King brandished two photographs - one of a woman with a little girl of about two, and one of a little girl attempting to smile at the photographer. Wataru recognized the little girl as herself - even if she didn't remember that particular photo, she'd been wearing the top at least in other photos.

The woman, she supposed, was her mother or caretaker.

"My... mother?" she asked tenatively. "I know that this is me. But how did you know?"

"I didn't, not until I got a good look at you." He sighed briefly. "The moles under your eyes and that mole on your cheek made me realize who you might be. And I wasn't sure what you were."

He hadn't answered about the woman with her, she noticed. "You thought Mio-san was dating a human?" He might have been taking care of Queen's duties.

"Yes. I was so relieved that you were Fangire. Of course, now I have to find you a husband as a big brother should. I don't know about your father, but I know mine is dead." He turned away a little at this.

"Mine is dead, too." A musician that her mother - the person she'd considered her mother - had known. She had no reason to believe that her mother had lied about her father. Or at least she hoped not. "Besides, I don't like men, at least romantically."

His face twisted in an expression of what was likely slight disgust. "It doesn't matter. You're my little sister, and you deserve someone who can give you children."

She bit her lip. "Then find someone who likes threesomes." Megumi, her older sister, had told her all the romantic options available for a girl who liked girls. "Because I'm not going to give up Mio-san." 

The King studied her. "If that would make you happy." He shook his head. "Let's just go home. We can discuss it there. Bishop says that he's just found my Queen, you and I can meet her together."

"I have my own home to return to. And I need to think." She held out the helmet to him. "This is a lot to think about."

"You're safer with me." The King shook his head. "You're not going to make it easy on me, are you?"

"No." She shook her head. "No matter what, the woman who raised me and the sister I was raised with are important to me, even if they couldn't teach me to hunt. I'm safe as long as I'm the person they know." If he knew her address, he probably knew that her family hunted Fangire.

He gave a slight nod on that, taking back the helmet. "Think it over. Here's my card." He reached into a pocket and handed a card to her. She took it with both hands, reading it until she could politely put it away.

"Nobori Taiga?" she asked.

"Yes." He gave her a lukewarm smile. "I'll be back for you."

She had no doubt about that.


	3. Chapter 3

She stopped back at the restaurant to tell Mio-san what she'd told King Taiga.

"Mio," she said quietly as they headed towards their homes and quietly dropping the honorific, "He didn't say we couldn't stop dating."

"I... is he really your older brother, Wataru-san?" Mio-san asked. 

"He seems to think so, and he had a picture of me." She wasn't going to mention being human out in the open when anybody could be listening. "So I have to be his little sister. I don't know how I'm going to tell my mom and big sister, though. I think she's still working, so I might go there." In a safe place, where the Fangire Hunters were.

"But Wataru-san," Mio-san added, "Doesn't your mother get off work early today?"

"You're right!" She still had to deal with the issue of her mom being a Fangire hunter, and she didn't want to lead the Fangire King into where her mother's fellow hunters gathered.

Not that her mom was really her mom, if she was Fangire. But she was still the woman who had raised her, and that was what mattered. She was an Aso in spirit even if she wasn't an Aso in the genes.

"It's kind of exciting for Wataru-san to be the sister of the King," Mio-san said. "But what do we do now?"

Wataru shook her head. "Date. I told him, King or no, I was not losing you. We might end up having a threesome with some guy."

Mio-san blinked. "Wataru-san, I don't want anyone but you."

"I know. I just hope... I hope he's wrong. About me being his sister, I mean. He doesn't have to do this."

"He's still our King," Mio-san said, as if reminding Wataru of what she was pretending to be.

Wataru nodded. "I'll just talk to my mom. Sort of." She knew Mio-san would understand what she was saying. 

How was she supposed to bring this up to her Fangire-hunting mother, anyway?

She went home, hoping her mother would come home soon. Her sister was already there, watering her supposed brother's plant. She must have finished up her modeling job.

"Big sister," she said, "Um."

"Oh, little one!" Her sister put the watering can down. "I thought your plant could use a little more sunlight. I've been thinking of how you could find out who sent you these flowers!"

"I know who sent them. He showed up at work." She shook her head. "And he really does think we're siblings. Not in the 'like-family sense', in the 'we're-blood-siblings sense'. And he's not that thrilled about me dating a girl."

"Hmph. I'll have to have a word with him, then." Her older sister, Megumi, folded her arms. "You're cute together."

"Um, Big sister, I think he's a little bit dangerous. I want to talk to mom and you about this before we do anything."

"Oh, I'm sure it's not that bad!" Megumi leaned over and clapped on the shoulder. "If he shows up again, just call Older Sister and I'll make sure he doesn't bother you again."

Wataru wished it was that easy. Her sister wasn't equipped to go after the Fangire King, if that's what he was. She'd automatically assumed he was, and so had Mio. At the very least, he had pictures of her as a little girl, with a mysterious guardian.

That was something that she'd have to ask her mother, probably. 

At least she had his card. "This is who he said he is," she said, pulling his card out of her purse. 

"Nobori Taiga, huh? Well, I'll take care of him for you!" Her older sister grinned and took the card.

"Um, wait! Let's wait for Mom and see if this guy's really dangerous." She wasn't going to send her sister into danger if he really was the Fangire King and not some weirdo that happened to have a picture of her.

She didn't want to lose her big sister if the man was even Fangire. Megumi, who had watched the Ghost Soup Infidel cartoons with her when they were both teens and never complained about the content and even chatted about which nurse was the cutest. Who had protected her from bullies and taught her and Mio-san to be more courageous.

"Let's call her!" Megumi took out her phone. "Hi, mom? Wataru ran into the guy that sent her the flowers! He says he's her brother!"

Wataru cringed a little, but maybe Mom could talk some sense into her sister.

"Mom? Are you there?" Megumi's voice turned concerned. "What? Okay." She hit the "call end" button and turned to Wataru. "We're going to the cafe."

Wataru nodded. She hadn't told her mother where the flowers came from, and apparently neither had her older sister. If she'd have known... well, who knows what would have happened.

Megumi took Wataru to the Mal d'Amour. Wataru would have preferred discussing the whole thing in the privacy of their home, but there was nothing to do about it. It was why she'd wanted to wait for her mom to come home in the first place.

The door said "closed for a special event", which meant that it was pretty serious. The owner of the cafe didn't close the business for trivial reasons. 

Sitting inside were her mother and Shima Mamoru, the head of the Blue Sky Association. Since she wasn't a Fangire hunter like her mom and sister, she didn't spend a lot of time with him, but she did know him well enough that she could tell he was upset by something. He was staring at the wall, unseeing, while her mother sat at the table, hands folded tight.

They knew something, and Wataru wasn't sure she wanted to know what it was.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to my part of fandom a few years ago (thank you, CFUD people), my headcanon is that Otoya is Megumi's dad.

"What's going on?" Megumi asked, saving Wataru from having to ask the question. Wataru was sure she didn't want to hear the answer, but there was nothing to be done about that.

"It's something bad, isn't it." Wataru shook her head at her own words. Of course it was something bad, she just had to look at Shima-san.

Her mother and Shima-san exchanged looks, and they seemed as willing to explain it as she wanted to hear it.

"It has to do with that guy who says he's Wataru's brother!" Megumi prompted.

"I... Wataru, I'm not your biological mother." The words came out slowly and with much regret. 

"You aren't?" She spoke almost as slowly as her mother had. Of course her mom was her mom; most people who got adopted were sons marrying into businesses, weren't they? Not little girls.

But then she remembered the woman in the picture that King Taiga hadn't wanted to talk about.

"Of course she's my little sister." Megumi enveloped her in a one-armed hug.

"You share the same father," their mother said, a small smile on her face. "But her mother was... she entrusted me with Wataru's care when Wataru was a little girl and it wasn't safe for her to be around Wataru."

"He showed me a picture, but wouldn't tell me who she was. I... I have Fangire blood, don't I?" It would make so much sense, how she'd been considered Fangire by her friends and Mio's parents. "He really is my brother, isn't he? He's not delusional?"

"Yes, but I raised you to be better than that." There was a certain sternness in her mother's tone, which made sense. The Fangire were predators, even if some of them were her friends. She'd had to live with the fact that some of her friends - and the love of her life - hunted humans. "Otoya should have known better, too."

Kurenai Otoya had been her father, and Megumi's as well. "Was my mom Fangire?"

"Yes." The answer was short, and curt, as if her mom didn't want to discuss it anymore. Wataru didn't blame her.

"What troubles me," Shima-san said, "Was how he got the picture, and how he found you."

"He didn't say, but I think he saw me and Mio-san, and I guess Fangire and Human weren't supposed to be together, penalty of death, he said? And then he saw my moles and made the connection." Never mind that she'd been the one he'd mistaken for human intially. "I was told to break up with her." Though it was more that he thought she should be with a man, because to King Taiga, Mio was at least the correct species.

"He's violent... and he believes absolutely in the superiority of the Fangire." Shima-san was looking out the window, but he wasn't looking at anything except maybe a memory.

"Mio-san and I aren't safe, then." She shook her head. They were safe, she knew, but she couldn't out Mio-san. "He wanted to take me with him, but I refused. He let it go, for the moment. Is he going to force me to go with him, next time?"

"That's what we think." Her mother was frowning, her face tense. "We're going to have to protect you until we can figure out how to get you to where he can't find you."

"He knows where I live and where I work." She hadn't thought of being kidnapped by the Fangire King. It was a chilling possibility, and she didn't want to live with someone who could kill her on a whim.

"Which is why you can't work there anymore, to keep Mio-san safe." Her mother folded her arms. "Once you get away from her, she should be safe."

"But Mio-san...." The whole point was that she didn't want to break up with Mio-san.

"We'll just have to find some way to send her with you!" Megumi piped up.

"In the meantime, Megumi, I, or one of the other Blue Sky operatives will be with you any time you're out of the house." Her mother leaned forward. "I'm not going to lose you to him."

"I don't want to be Fangire, either." Just because she'd come to terms about what Mio-san was didn't mean that she wanted to learn to hunt or be Fangire. "Or die."

"You won't," her mother promised. "I'll protect you."

It was a reassurance from a mother to a child, Wataru knew, and she did feel comforted. As far as she was concerned, no matter what, she was an Aso. She was her mother's daughter, who just happened to have another mother that wasn't part of her life. "Mom, thank you."

A smile grew on her mother's face. "You're my daughter, no matter whose child or sister you are."

"And you're my mom. Me knowing who she was doesn't matter. You're the one who raised me." She would stay human for her mom. "Um, what do I do for a job?"

"Master is willing to take you on for a little while." Shima-san glanced over at the owner of the business, who waved at her. She hadn't even realized that he was there. Said something about how upset she was. 

"Thank you, Master!" she exclaimed. He hadn't had enough business to hire two waitresses, so she and Mio had found jobs elsewhere. 

"It's nothing, Wataru-chan," Master said. "Don't think about it."

Wataru was trying not to, but how could she not? She was going to start a new job because the half-brother she never knew that she had was the Fangire King and she had to be saved from him.


	5. Chapter 5

But did she have to be kept from him? After all, she had never hunted and didn't know how. Everybody had probably presumed someone else was teaching her, and she herself hadn't known she was part Fangire. If she could persuade King Taiga that she was human in essence and Mio-san hadn't known that Wataru wasn't Fangire, then that would keep Mio-san safe until they could run away together or something like that.

"I think I also have something that might work." She folded her hands. "I'm half human; I can persuade King Taiga that I can't function as Fangire and that I should be treated as human." As food, she knew, but it was better than being the rope in a game of tug-of-war.

"That won't work." Shima-san looked at her gravely. "He believes you're Fangire."

"How do you know for sure? Did he call you? Did you call him?"

Shima-san dug a phone out of his jacket pocket and showed her the message. "You won't keep her."

"King Taiga?"

"I didn't know who he was talking about until Megumi told me that he'd send you flowers." He put the phone away. "I thought I'd kept him from knowing."

"He knows now." Wataru shook her head. "If I can call him... I can make him upset and make him disown me."

"It might work," Megumi said, looking at their mother and then Shima-san.

"Mio-san would be safer if I couldn't call her for the moment, so I can just give my phone to you to get rid of when I'm done." It wasn't a flashy phone, just a basic one.

"If he threatens you, Wataru, let me know." Her mother crossed her arms. 

"I will. Big sister, do you have his card?" Wataru asked, bringing out her own phone. Megumi handed the card to her, and she dialed the number on it.

"Wataru?" King Taiga asked. "Hold on a moment. I'm glad you called me." There was genuine warmth in his voice, and she didn't want that to go away, but she didn't want to be taken away from her family by the Fangire King, either. 

In some ways, he was still going to be her King, because she was still part Fangire. She could disown that part of her family, but she couldn't get rid of her genes.

He finished talking to whoever he'd been talking to, and then closed a door. "Sorry, I was talking to one of the Board." The sentence made no sense, but she made a note to ask Shima-san about it later. "So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

She hoped he was alone. This wasn't going to be a pleasant call. "I wanted to talk more about what we were talking about before."

"You want to meet Miu? I'll arrange lunch, you can meet her then-"

"Actually, King," she said in a rush of breath before he could make plans, "I wanted to tell you that despite my genes, I'm human."

"Wataru," he said, and the words were suddenly full of anger, "They're forcing you to say that, aren't they? Tell me where you are, I'll get you to safety."

"I can't, King." Calling him by his title was the only thing she could think of. Even if she hadn't had the blood, it was his proper title.

"You are my little sister. You recognized yourself in the pictures. You can't be a human."

"I can't hunt. I can't function as a Fangire. I don't have fangs." She wasn't sure about that last part, since she'd never been asked about them. "I was thinking about it, and why would you want to count me as a Fangire when I can't ever feed myself?"

"You grew up around Fangire kids, you told me. Nobody told you how to hunt?"

"No." She would have liked to elaborate, but she didn't want to risk outing her Fangire friends to her family. 

"If you're human than your girlfriend's been dating a human. That doesn't make sense, Wataru."

It made perfect sense, except by Fangire law. "She didn't know. I didn't know. I can't be with her anymore." Isn't that what King Taiga had wanted?

"No, Wataru." His tone was firm, and she wanted to apologize, to take back her words. But if he fought to get her, her family would fight right back, and she didn't want to lose them. "I don't care what lies they're feeding you. I know they're forcing you to say these things. Miu and I will come save you."

"They're the only family I have! I was abandoned by my mother. I don't have any biological family left. You're way too late."

"Wataru-"

"Goodbye." She hit the end button and then turned the phone off, finding tears streaming down her face as she tried to hand her phone to Shima-san. Except it dropped on the table as her hand shook.

Her sister hugged her. "No biological family, huh?"

"He doesn't know that we're half-sisters." Wataru shook her head while trying to wipe off her tears, which wasn't working too well. 

The others let her cry for a few minutes into her handkerchief, and Master served her a cup of tea. When Wataru could finally breathe, she looked over at Shima-san and her mother. "I think I made things worse."


	6. Chapter 6

"Yes," Shima-san confirmed gravely. "I know him well enough that he won't take that well at all." 

"How bad is it going to be?" Wataru asked. She had to know how many problems she'd caused by improvising.

"He'll either try to kidnap you or kill you." Shima-san was shaking his head slightly. "I know he won't accept what you just said."

"King Taiga did say that he believed I was being forced to say what I did." Of course, that was before she'd disowned him and hung up on him, so who knew?

What was clear to her was that she'd just put the Blue Sky Association in danger by mouthing off to the Fangire King. She was going to get everybody killed instead of maybe harmed or injured.

"We'll stick to the original plan," her mother said. "He's not getting my daughter. I didn't raise her just to have her kidnapped by Taiga."

And forced to be Fangire. Those words were unspoken but Wataru knew that they were there. If Taiga got her, she would no longer be human. She had to do something about that before everything she loved was destroyed.

But she couldn't do it at the moment.

Her mom and sister took her home. Dinner was mostly eaten in silence, with the exception of a little planning. Wataru would call her workplace in the morning and tell them she wasn't coming back, and then she'd come with her mom to the cafe to work.

She wished she'd been able to talk to Mio-san, but her mother had told her that it wasn't safe to call her. Not with Taiga on the rampage about Wataru. There was a possibility, after all, that Taiga would take it out on Mio-san because she was the wrong species.

Which she wasn't, but it wasn't like Wataru could say anything.

It kept her awake, and also made her realize that everything would be better if she didn't involve everybody else in what was essentially her problem. Giving up any pretense at sleep, she quietly grabbed some clothes and quickly changed into them, stuffing supplies including a knife from her sister's supply into it. She knew that she didn't have the power to kill a King, but she could at least try.

She did her best to write a note to her family, knowing that she might not be coming back. For one thing, her mother might kill her after she found out that Wataru was sneaking out to go into possible battle.

Or at least she'd be very unhappy. Wataru would do anything to keep her mom alive.

Once she got out of the house without anybody waking up to notice, she carefully walked out the front gate. It was four in the morning, with a hint of sun peeking out over the horizon. 

"Hi..." a voice said tentatively to her left, and she whipped around. "Umm, is this the Aso residence? I'm looking for Aso Wataru."

She nearly screeched in alarm, but stopped herself. "And you are?"

"Nurakawa Seijiro." He bowed slightly. There was a bouquet of flowers in his hands, and he was dressed in a suit and tie. "I was told by the King and Queen to be here."

Fangire, then, there to grab her probably. She hoped not, though. "Here to do what?"

"Ask her out on a date. You see, I was dating a human and I also ran afoul of the King, so I was marked for death. Queen got the idea that I should go out on a date with the King's younger sister. I agreed, because I don't want to die!"

"How long ago was this?" Wataru asked. Despite everything, she was curious.

"About two days ago. Can you help me find the house? Please?" He bowed at her again. "I don't want to die."

"I'm Aso Wataru," she said. "I'm not supposed to be out here and I don't think my mom is going to be very happy with me soon, so let's both leave."

She took off, aware that he was following her. There was nothing she could do about it, so she kept walking. Gradually, he caught up with her. "Where are we going?" he asked.

"To... I don't know." She wasn't going to say where King Taiga worked. "Just away. It's not safe to be with me, either. I disowned my brother yesterday."

"You what? Is that even possible? I mean, Princess, you can't exactly-"

"Princess isn't a Checkmate Four rank," she pointed out. The sooner he realized the danger he was in, the better. "And he's not going to be happy with me. You might want to just move someplace else." She wasn't even going to think about the fact that King Taiga had somewhat followed his promise to find her someone who liked threesomes. "Do you like threesomes?"

"What? Um, I... why do you ask?"

"I'm a lesbian, and King Taiga wanted me to break up my girlfriend. I said no, find me a guy who liked threesomes."

"If it keeps me alive, I'll be happy to engage in any threesome you want!" He was waving his hands. "Just please tell the King that you're sorry and that you didn't mean it."

"I can't do that, I'm going to go kill him." She kept walking. "If I can't calm him down."

He gulped. "You want to be King?"

"No, I don't want to be King, I just want to stop being King Taiga's little sister." She shook her head. "Go home."

"But then you'll be King if you kill the previous one." His eyes darted around.

She hadn't considered that, though it made sense. "Oh. Then maybe I won't kill him then."

"That would be a really good idea." He stepped up his pace. "Um, if you want, I can try to smooth things over. See if I can get him to listen to you."

That would be a good idea, actually. She paused. "There's someone I need to talk to first."


	7. Chapter 7

Mio got up early, Wataru knew. She was actually the earliest riser of the two of them, and at the rate Wataru was going, she'd be up before Wataru and her unexpected partner got there. So, Wataru didn't feel too bad about ringing the house doorbell at such an odd, early hour. Mio opened the door, running outside when she saw who was there. "Wataru!"

Wataru gave her a shy smile, and indicated her companion. "This is Nurakawa-san, he's here to help."

"Or be part of a threesome," the man said, bowing at Mio.

"He's... your brother sent him?" Mio asked, looking from one to the other as if unsure.

"I was about to be killed for loving a human, but the Queen thought I'd be put to better use as a lover," Nurakawa-san explained in a soft tone. "I didn't exactly argue."

"Nurakawa-san is going to help me convince the King to see sense," Wataru said quietly.

"Um, why don't you come in, both of you?" Mio asked. "Um, given what we have to talk about?"

"Right," Wataru said, and let her girlfriend usher the two of them in. 

Once they were settled in the living room and Mio had gotten them some tea, she looked at Wataru uncertainly. "Um, what's going on?"

"I disinherited the King." It was best for Mio to know the worst part first. "I'm not sure whether he thinks I need rescuing or not, but I'm going to presume so. However, since he seems to have given me Nurakawa-san, I'm willing to let Nurakawa-san try to convince him that I don't need rescuing from my family. They're human, and hunt Fangire," she explained to Nurakawa-san.

"Ow." Nurakawa-san winced. "I... didn't know."

"I'm trying not to start a war between my family and my other family," Wataru explained. "Which means convincing my older brother to leave me alone and pretend he doesn't have a baby sister."

"But at least he's listening to you a little?" Mio said, indicating Nurakawa-san.

"Yes, and this is why we are all going to Development and Pioneer before something worse happens."

"I've been there," Nurakawa-san said. "I came to the King's attention by doing a business proposal... one that ran afoul of Fangire law, apparently. But if I come in with you, he might forgive me. And... well, you're nice."

"And half human... my mom was the former Queen, my dad was human." She let Nurakawa-san blink, absorbing that information. "I tried to inform him that I didn't know how to hunt and Mio-san mistook me for a Fangire, but that left him more determined to rescue me."

"I'm good at talking to people, let me take the lead," Nurakawa-san said. "Maybe... maybe I can convince him for you." He looked reluctant, but still, Wataru knew that his life was on the line if he didn't manage to talk Taiga out of things. "That despite your Fangire blood, you belong with the humans."

"But what would that do to our relationship?" Mio asked. "Are you... are you breaking up with me, Wataru?"

"I'm getting away before he can go after you... but you'll follow, won't you? Both of you." Not that she really wanted a relationship with Nurakawa-san, but he was following orders and she didn't want him harmed for someothing outside his control.

"If you ask," Nurakawa-san said. Mio nodded.

"Good. Let's head to Development and Pioneer, and hope that he's an early riser as well." She didn't have to say who she was talking about; everybody in their group knew.


	8. Chapter 8

The three of them got to Development and Pioneer fairly early, surrounded by Fangire - or so Mio-san and Nurakawa-san told Wataru. Of course, very few gave the trio more than a glance. Wataru headed to reception, giving the woman behind the desk her name. 

Once the woman typed it in, her eyebrows rose. "I... let me show you to a conference room."

"I think that would be a good idea." She motioned for Mio-san and Nurakawa-san to follow her, and the woman didn't object.

To her surprise, she was turned over to another woman, who made sure the three of them had tea before leaving them alone. There were security guards on the doors, Wataru could vaguely see, though they were hopefully there to protect her instead of keeping her from leaving.

It wasn't too long before King Taiga was hurrying in to the room, followed by an unfamiliar woman who Wataru presumed was his Queen. Had he said the woman's name was Miu? Wataru wasn't sure.

"You're safe," King Taiga said in relief. 

"I found her," Nurakawa-san said. "She didn't need rescuing, she got herself out."

Beaming, King Taiga circled the table towards them. "That's my little sister."

"Um, there's a small problem, though." Nurakawa-san held up his hands. "I'm not sure I'm supposed to be romancing a human, even if she feels like Fangire."

"And I didn't know either," Mio-san added. She looked appropriately stricken.

"Calm down you two," Taiga said. "You're not in violation of the Law, because she is Fangire." He looked from one to another. "Don't tell me that her delusion's spread to both of you?"

"I could summon my mother," the Queen said brightly. "If your sister's health warrants it."

"It might, Miu," Taiga told her. "But at least she left, that's a good sign."

"I didn't want you to kill my very well-intentioned human family." Wataru saw no point in lying to King Taiga. "Or my boyfriend, or my girlfriend. I was telling the truth, though. I don't feel very Fangire, I can't Hunt and I really don't have Fangs. I just fell through the cracks and I don't think I can ever be anything other than human." She looked miserably at Mio-san and Nurakawa-san. At least she could keep the two of them safe.

"You can learn," King Taiga promised. "You just need confidence in yourself, and your family. Your real family."

His Queen had drifted off to make a phone call, Wataru noticed.

"If I was meant to be Fangire, why did I grow up with humans?" she asked. She eyed the distance to the door and wondered if she could make it out without anybody tackling her.

"Because our mother - that was the woman in the picture I showed you - decided that humans were better than Fangire." He shook his head, taking her hand. "She turned us both over to humans to raise. I needed to feed and so I figured out what I was early on. You, on the other hand... at least you found our people."

"Mom and everyone still don't know that Mio-san's Fangire." She wanted to keep it that way, even if she never saw them again. "I want to make sure she's safe."

"And I'll make sure of that." King Taiga gave her a bright smile, letting go of her hand. 

She could run now. She looked over at Mio-san, who had listened to her when she had chosen to be what she was.

Wataru got up, bolting away from King Taiga. Mio-san grabbed the King immediately, followed up a second later by Nurakawa-san. They both looked terrified, but it gave her a chance to get out of there. She charged out past the guards - thankfully, they looked like they'd been put there to protect her - and rushed towards Development and Pioneer's entrance.


	9. Chapter 9

King Taiga must have called Security, for she was soon surrounded by guards, who ushered her into a completely different room than Mio-san and Nurakawa-san were. He arrived a few minutes later, and Wataru hoped he hadn't killed either of her friends. He certainly didn't look very happy.

His Queen followed him into the room a minute later, and she didn't look very happy either. Wataru knew that he was delusional himself, that she really couldn't exist as Fangire, but it would take time to convince him of that.

"Wataru...." He was using her first name, which was his prerogative as King. She reminded herself that he was still her King even if she was going to live as human.

"I just can't." She steeled herself for another round of lectures, and wished Mio-san was there at least.

Maybe it would be worse than lectures. She'd just pretty much caused two Fangire to rebel against their King and Queen.

"She's definitely your sister, Taiga," Queen Miu said.

"I know," he replied grimly. "I didn't expect her to inspire so much loyalty."

Wataru silently apologized to Mio-san and Nurakawa-san for getting them into so much trouble. 

"Especially when she's delusional." King Taiga turned to look at Wataru. "Much as they deserved death for attacking me, I thought I might spare them while you gave me a decent explanation."

She was going to have to save them, somehow, and she wasn't sure how. The only reason they were still alive was because she was Taiga's sister and he might give her some leeway that he wouldn't give anybody else.

What was a decent explanation that wouldn't get them in worse trouble?

"I panicked, and they tried to give me some breathing room. Mio-san and I have been doing that all of our lives - well, I've mostly done it for Mio-san - and we explained a lot to Nurakawa-san so I think he felt obligated to help out too."

King Taiga sighed and looked at his Queen. "Miu?"

"My mother's a primary doctor, not a psychiatrist," she said. "But still... it rings true. Let's... she needs tea and time alone, I think."

"Right." Taiga looked at Wataru. "Tea." He blinked, as if unsure if that was what he should be saying. "Life Energy?"

"Let my mother look at her." Miu looked over at Wataru. "In the meantime, human food will not hurt her and might bring her out of her panic."

"And play into her delusions."

"It might, but better a short-term delusion than her fainting on us." Miu put her hand on Taiga's. "I did learn something from my mother."

Unexpectedly, Taiga smiled. "Thank you, Miu."

"I want to do the best for my beloved King." Miu smiled back at him. "And I think it would be best if we leave your sister to calm down."

Which they did. An office worker came in a little bit after that with the makings of tea, much as someone had when she and the others had arrived in.

Wataru sipped at the tea and considered how to get everybody out of this. Her family, she thought, was probably worried sick, having gotten her note, and of course Shima-san knew where Taiga worked.

Of course, her mother wasn't stupid, and neither was her sister, and they wouldn't assault a building that was presumably full of Fangire.

The door opened while she was thinking of ways to let her mom and sister know she was okay. A woman in her mid-thirties, or so Wataru guessed, came in with a bag.

"Good morning," she said. "I'm Dr. Takamoto. I understand you're the King's sister." There was a briskness to her introduction, and she was taking out some devices - the same that Wataru's doctor used. "My daughter Miu called me in to look at you."

This made sense. The Queen had mentioned calling in her mother, even if she wasn't a psychiatrist.

"I understand you get panic attacks. I can prescribe you something to help, temporarily, until you can go to your regular doctor. Who is that, anyway?"

"Dr. Takada," Wataru said automatically.

"If that's who I think it is, I'm sure he'll agree with what I'm prescribing you." She picked up her stethoscope. "Now, let's make sure the rest of you is all right...."

So, Wataru let the doctor examine her while thinking of how maybe, maybe she'd saved Mio-san and Nurakawa-san. 

"A little bit low on energy, but a good hunt will take care of that." Dr. Takamoto nodded to herself. "In the meantime, a good rest will do you some good. Did you sleep last night?"

"Not well," Wataru admitted, wondering if she should admit to the doctor that she had no clue how to hunt at all. Well, mostly. She'd been with Mio-san when she'd hunted before, but that didn't help very much.


	10. Chapter 10

"I'll make sure the King finds you a place to rest, then." Dr. Takamoto was nodding to herself more. "Someplace safe. If I understand correctly, you are not currently safe where you are."

That was an understatement, Wataru knew. But she also knew that Dr. Takamoto was referring to her home, not here. Until she found a way to get out of her own crisis - caused by her own stupidity - she'd have to not say anything that contradicted Taiga.

"I'll have the King set up a cot here, if possible." Dr. Takimoto put her equipment away.

"I think that's a good idea." She needed the rest, at least to think clearly. And then maybe she could think of a way out.

Dr. Takimoto nodded and headed out. A few minutes later, Taiga had returned.

"So," he said, sitting down, "Dr. Takimoto says you're okay." He flashed her a grin. "Except being tired and needing to hunt. Which I know you don't know how to do."

"I may not even have fangs," she reminded him.

"Of course you have fangs! Believe in yourself." Taiga grinned at her. "You've been mislead. We're going to fix that. After you have a good nap. I have a cot in my office - you can sleep there. Miu's going to order some food for you when you wake up - our cafeteria, the one that serves our human employees, is excellent."

If Wataru hadn't been raised by humans who had hunted Fangire, she could have found it easy to just follow Taiga's instructions without question. Right at the moment, she wanted to make sure she had a way to get out. Getting out of Taiga's office might prove difficult.

"Are Mio-san and Nurakawa-san okay?" Wataru asked.

"They're fine, Wataru." He grinned even more. "I'm going to keep them here, since I think they might need protecting, too. I don't want those hunters going after either of them."

"They think Mio-san is human," Wataru pointed out. "They don't know Nurikawa-san." Just because she was momentarily stuck there, didn't mean the other two had to be.

"And I don't want them going after either your girlfriend or your boyfriend." Taiga reached over and put his hand over hers. "Just because you've managed to fool that family doesn't mean that Mio will be safe forever."

"But if she's gone from her house, they'll think that she's in danger. They think she's human, after all."

"And I don't want them to find out otherwise." Taiga shook his head. "I want all three of you to be safe. You've got a boyfriend and a girlfriend, and I don't want to change that. They're loyal to you and I don't want them to do anything stupid - well, anything stupider than attacking their King because you're having a panic attack."

"I guess Mio-san was paying me back for so many years of doing the same for her - without the attacking. We have known each other for a long time, after all."

Taiga chuckled. "And you'll get to enjoy knowing each other for a long, long time, I hope." He sat down. "I know you feel protective of Mio, and it sounds like you're protective of Nurikawa, who you just met. Which tells me you're truly a Fangire. And my sister."

"Half-sister," Wataru pointed out.

"Sister," Taiga said firmly. "You might be half, but you're still my little sister. I have to protect you. And your girlfriend and boyfriend. I'm your big brother and their king. Come on, if you've finished your tea, I'm going to take you upstairs to my office so that you can rest."

"And Mio-san and Nurikawa-san? I know Nurikawa-san might not have gotten much sleep either." If she could convince Taiga to keep them together, she might be able to escape with both of them. Not that she was dating Nurikawa-san, but he'd proved to be a loyal friend, even if he barely knew her.

"I'll find him a cot too, and for Mio if she needs it." Taiga took her hand. "I'm going to make sure you're safe this time. I should have taken you home when we first talked, not wait for you to be in danger."

"If you had, I wouldn't have met Nurikawa-san," Wataru told him. She still had to get the man out of danger as well, given that he'd helped her out.

"You have a good point. I'll find you all a safe place with new identities. You and Mio can be sisters, and he can be your husband." Taiga was thoughtful. "Maybe we can send you three to America. Nurikawa does seem to be very bright. We could establish him with some company in America, and you and Mio with him."

It would get her free from Taiga, at least, and she could let her family know what had happened to her. That made it appealing... as a possible last resport. She would still have to get out of there with Mio-san and Nurakawa-san before that.

Going to Development and Pioneer had been a stupid idea, and she had to get all three of them out of it.


End file.
